Wormwitch: Wolf Hex

So in their own words:
“WORMWITCH stands exhumed and stinking under a feral Canadian moon, primed for a relentless black metal sonic attack. The band returns with their third long-player titled Wolf Hex: the wolf representing mental fortitude, lupine independence and the left hand path; the hex representing the approach of magickal thought.�

Wolf Hex is the third full length album from Wormwitch who formed in 2015 and who have previously released two great albums through Prosthetic Records. This album sees Bassist and vocalist Robin Harris, Drummer Izzy Langlais, and Guitarists Colby Hink and Kyle Travares heading down multiple stylistic roads while riding the rotting horse corpse of Black Metal all the way. They traverse everything from hardcore punk, classic heavy metal anthems, speed and thrash and even Opeth-like acoustic folk. All within the framework of modern Black Metal. Everything is very seamless and works fantastically well.

Wolf Hex was produced by the band in their own studio with the engineering help of Tim Creviston and mastering by Brad Boatright. The production sounds very organic with the drums sounding both clear but also fairly cavernous at the same time, which is no mean feat. Simultaneously the guitars reveal their rich melodies through the slightly murky and pummeling attack. The vocals are dark and raspy and engaging in the Black Metal tradition and tackle themes of Anti-authoritarianism, Anti-Religion and Anti-State while searching for enlightenment among other things. Wolf Hex is consistently great throughout but the standout tracks that capture the diversity of the album, for me, were the epic “The Wolves of Ossory�, with it’s beautiful acoustic passage in the style of Opeth, as I mentioned above, and it’s wild yet seamless stylistic ride.

The heavy metal infused “Abracadabra� and it’s sonic cacophony.

The beautiful “The Crimson Proof� conjures up images of traipsing through a dark, cold and wet woodland.

The Pastoral simplicity of “Grail� and the killer cover of Metallica’s “Hit the Lights�, which is executed with a clear love and respect for the original.

Overall I think Wolf Hex does everything it sets out to do and does it well. Another aspect I really like is the run time of 34 mins. I love shorter albums like this which leave you hungry for more and this album definitely fits the bill. I would highly recommend this album to any fans of modern, more diverse, Black Metal but even to casual heavy metal fans who dabble in the harder stuff. Even though the ferocity is there, it’s certainly not the impenetrable kind of Black Metal that turns some people on, but also many away. Wormwitch has done a great job creating an epic and diverse yet consistent and faithful album.

WORMWITCH is:
Colby Hink - Guitar
Kyle Tavares - Guitar
Robin Harris - Vocals and Bass
Izzy Langlais - Drums

Track listing:
1. Lunar Maniac
2. Canadian Denim Mountain Attack
3. The Wolves of Ossory
4. Hammer of the Underworld
5.The Crimson Proof
6. Abracadabra
7. Leering Crystal Effigies
8. Grail
9. Teeth of the Dawn
10. Hit the Lights

Added: August 21st 2021
Reviewer: Benjamin Dudai
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 968
Language: english

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